Congress Considering Sending The IRS After AIG

The Washington Post says that the House will vote this afternoon on a bill that would seek to impose a 90% tax on the AIG bonuses. The Senate Finance Committee is also working on similar legislation, but have not yet scheduled a vote.

From the Washington Post:

The House bill would tax 90 percent of bonus income for individuals with a household income of at least $250,000. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said the Senate bill would impose excise taxes of 35 percent each on both AIG employees and the company. Combined with the personal income tax paid by the executives, the Senate levy would capture more than 90 percent of the bonuses.

Separate provisions would target recipients who are foreign nationals. Both the Senate and House taxes would apply broadly to bonuses paid to employees of firms receiving government aid under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), approved last year by Congress to prevent the collapse of the financial sector.